The San Marcos Rattlers didn’t lose ground Friday night. They merely lost time, and they might have even re-gained a grip on their football season.

The Rattlers lost, 42-28, at Kerrville Tivy in a game almost no one expected them to win. But the Rattlers, who killed themselves with turnovers the last two weeks, didn’t lose a single fumble against Tivy, controlled the ball nicely on the ground with 327 yards, and even produced 95 yards from their passing game.

If the Rattlers struggled defensively – and they did, allowing 523 total yards – remember that Tivy started the night averaging 48 points per game. And Tivy didn’t really put the game away until into the fourth quarter.

So, the Rattlers (2-4 overall, 0-3 District 27-4A) lost this one, but they didn’t beat themselves and, in that sense, claimed their best performance of the district season. They might even have a breath left to take in the playoff race.

Elsewhere in the district, Alamo Heights beat Seguin (38-27), Steele beat New Braunfels Canyon (28-21) and Clemens beat Boerne (35-21). Thus, Tivy, Alamo Heights and Steele are the three first-place teams at 3-0, Canyon is in the remaining playoff spot at 2-1, Clemens and Boerne are 1-2, and the Rattlers and Seguin are 0-3.

The Rattlers, then, remain two games out of playoff position, though with four teams to pass. And it certainly doesn’t get easier next Friday, when Alamo Heights visits Bobcat Stadium. But if the Rattlers can steal that one, they will line up for their final three games against the other three second-division teams at the moment – Clemens, Boerne and Seguin – and they could still hold out hope to sneak into the playoffs.

It could be that one player made the difference in Friday night’s game, because the Rattlers succumbed to a rather super-human performance by Tivy’s Quincy Kibbett, a senior who will remember Friday as one of the great nights of his life. After being named homecoming king, Kibbett scored four touchdowns in the second half to break the game open. Kibbett ended the night with 156 rushing yards in eight carries, another 81 yards on three pass receptions and 86 return yards, meaning he finished with 323 total yards.

San Marcos took the early lead Friday night when Scooter Walker ran 80 yards for a touchdown on the second play from scrimmage. But Tivy answered right away to tie the game, 7-7, on an 18-yard pass from Johnny Manziel to Matt Ayala.

Kristian Cogdill ran one yard for a touchdown to give the Rattlers a 14-7 lead in the second quarter at the end of a 22-play, 93-yard drive, but Manziel matched it with a one-yard touchdown run for the Antlers, tying the game, 14-14, at halftime.

To that point, the game was going according to the San Marcos plan. The Rattlers controlled the ball for 16:05 of the first half, which enabled them to play evenly with the most explosive Class 4A team in the San Antonio area.

Much like last week against Canyon, though, the second-half kickoff changed the look of this game, and it was that newly crowned homecoming king, Kibbett, taking the kick 75 yards for a touchdown, giving Tivy a 21-14 lead. But the Rattlers didn’t die this time. Instead, Aaron Canady ran 70 yards for a touchdown less than a minute later to tie the game, 21-21.

From that point, Kibbett and the Antlers put down the hammer. First, Kibbett took a screen pass from Manziel 37 yards for a touchdown. Next, Kibbett ran five yards for a touchdown, giving the Antlers a 35-21 lead. The Rattlers then drove down field, but a fourth-down sack killed the drive and Manziel hit Kibbett for a 47-yard touchdown, making it 42-21 in the fourth period. The Rattlers scored the final points on a 45-yard touchdown pass from Canady to Ryan Schweers.

Despite the loss, the Rattlers ended the game better than they began it. They started to find their stride again, leaving open a glimmer of chance that they could still be playing in five weeks.